PRINCETON — U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is scheduled to participate in a ceremony today to welcome the Navy back to Princeton University.

Nearly 40 years after military programs left many elite colleges amid Vietnam War-era protests, the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps - or NROTC - is returning to Princeton. The Ivy League school announced in February its NROTC program will restart under a partnership with Rutgers University's program.

Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber and Rutgers President Robert Barchi are scheduled to join Mabus and NROTC officials at an 11 a.m. ceremony in Chancellor Green on campus.

Princeton students will be eligible for four-year NROTC scholarships and have an opportunity to earn a Navy commission after graduation. They will be trained by active duty Navy and Marine Corps instructors on the Rutgers and Princeton campuses.

Princeton previously offered a NROTC program between 1945 and 1971. The university already has an Army ROTC program and offers an Air Force ROTC program through a separate partnership with Rutgers.

In 2011, President Barack Obama called on colleges to welcome ROTC programs and military recruiters back on campuses. Many schools that instituted Vietnam War-era bans began to reconsider after the military lifted the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that barred openly gay people from military service.

Last fall, Columbia University welcomed the NROTC back to its New York City campus. In 2012, Harvard University announced it would open an Army ROTC office.